David Coffey, TNEC Training Manager moderates a panel at NIEHS meeting.

    The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, (NIEHS) Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) Workshop "Deepwater Horizon Lessons Learned: Improving Safety and Health Training for Disaster Cleanup Workers" convened this May 3-5 in Mobile, Al.
   The intensive workshop brought together many people involved in responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including NIEHS WETP awardees, federal agency staff, and community leaders, as well as British Petroleum (BP) personnel and contractors.  Approximately 120 people attended the three day event.
   WETP Director Joseph "Chip" Hughes spoke about the decisions made during the oil spill.  He highlighted a recent U.S. Coast Guard report that set, as a future goal, a more ideal safety culture, including comprehensive training for both platform workers and cleanup workers.  He acknowledged the value of input from the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on the right to understand for training those whose first language is not English.  As part of the Unified Command Team, NIEHS developed training materials in English, Spanish and Vietnamese during the initial response.
   Dealing with the lessons learned on the front lines, "On-Site Lessons Learned" a plenary panel consisted of a fishing boat captain, Captain Bob Zales, David Coffey, Training Manager for the NIEHS funded The New England Consortium (TNEC) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Tamara Joslin, incident training lead for BP.  Mr. Coffey along with Jimmy Smith, a trainer with TNEC, were worker safety advisors and performed on-site evaluations in the Gulf region.  They observed a need for more

Jimmy Smith (l) and David Coffey (r) received awards for their training efforts in New Orleans.

educational materials, training provided in additional foreign languages and a better understanding by trainers of conditions at the disaster site itself. 
   Mr. Coffey and Mr. Smith were both recognized for their efforts in the Gulf region by NIEHS which awarded them a medal to honor their efforts in the disaster cleanup in Louisiana.


(Source: WETP Ryan Campbell)

   The (NIEHS) Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) provided Recovery Act funds to hazardous waste worker training organizations and small businesses to support the health

Governor Deval Patrick

and safety training for under- and unemployed workers in the hazardous materials and green jobs sectors.
   The New England Consortium (TNEC) used its ARRA funds, $373,270, to provide training to workers employed or likely to be employed in Recovery Act-supported hazardous waste cleanup, the green energy sector, and related transportation, and construction projects.
   As of May 21, 2011, TNEC has trained over 1,010 under served workers, including significant numbers of inner-city unemployed and underemployed workers in 60 courses covering more than 13,000 contact hours of instruction.  Most trainees were newly hired employees or public employees working on ARRA-funded projects who would otherwise have lost their jobs.  These include employees who work in transportation and construction, water treatment and resources, municipal road, sewer and highway projects, private sector green energy start-up firms, and weatherization and environmental technology.  For example, one graduate of the JFYNetworks weatherization program in Lowell was an unemployed painter who now works for Conservation Services Group (CSG) as an air sealing technician.  CSG is the leading weatherization company in eastern Massachusetts and the company is grooming the graduate to become an energy auditor.
   The ARRA funds have helped support the expansion of the green sector and to ensure an emphasis on employee health and safety.  TNEC developed a new OSHA 10+Plus course that includes the standard 10-hour OSHA construction course, with four hours of additional instruction on topics related to the "green" construction industries. 
   Other successes that resulted from the use of ARRA funds included the hiring of a full-time trainer, a half-time project administrator, and another half-time trainer; the retention of other employees; and the hiring of two student summer interns to support environmental public health research.
   Another program supported NIEHS' Partnerships for Environmental Public Health (PEPH) program and focused on green chemistry awareness training for workplace, community, and environmental activists.  The 4-hour curriculum is based on existing materials developed by the United Steel Workers, Beyond Benign, TNEC, and a COSH curriculum for green jobs.  The new training curriculum was first presented at a train-the-trainer session in 2010 for 23 activists.  Feedback from that training session was used to modify the curriculum which was then used at 5 separate training sessions, reaching 106 participants between April and October 2010.
   The curriculum provides tools for workers and communities to understand basic principles and concepts of green chemistry and how its application can lead to healthier and safer workplaces and communities by: 1) helping to reduce and prevent the generation of hazardous wastes; and 2) providing safer and healthier remediation of hazardous waste sites.
   TNEC used the training to expand green chemistry awareness to a network of advocates and activities, primarily in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  The project partners include the University of Massachusetts Lowell, The New England Consortium, Beyond Benign, and the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute.  Two environmental public health networks collaborated with TNEC on this project: the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow-Massachusetts coordinated by Clean Water Action which includes MassCOSH and Western MassCOSH, and the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Connecticut, which includes Clean Water Action and ConnectiCOSH.
   TNEC recovery act training provided people with new opportunities, new skills, and new hope.  On a trip to see how the Recovery Act funds were being utilized, the Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, stated that trainees "have a confidence about the future that comes from the fact that they, as well as we, are investing in that future."
(Source:  NIEHS WETP)

TNEC trainer Bridget McGuiness

  The New England Consortium (TNEC) the region's model Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Worker Health and Safety training program is now approved for Training Contact Hours (TCHs) by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's (MA DEP) Boards of Certification of Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators and Operators of Drinking Water Supply Facilities.
   Based at the University of Massachusetts Lowell since 1987, TNEC has provided dynamic hands-on, participatory health and safety training.  Engaged in simulated work tasks and mock incidents, students gain a better understanding of work site hazards and how to properly respond in an emergency situation.
   "We train a wide variety of people who work in wastewater treatment plants and in drinking water supply facilities," commented Wayne Sanborn, Training Consultant with TNEC.   "Health and Safety Officers who work with these types of facilities made requests for the certification. This training is directly relevant to an operator's day-to-day work responsibilities and providing the training contact hours helps them keep up to date on their certifications."
   The Boards of Certification have approved seven (7) TNEC courses for Training Contact Hours (TCH) for Licensed Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators and Operators of Drinking Water Supply Facilities.  Approved TNEC core courses are:
   (101) 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Site Worker Health and Safety Course,
   (102) 8-Hour Annual Hazardous Waste Site Worker Refresher Course,
   (301) 8-Hour Annual Emergency Responder Refresher Course,
   (303) 24-Hour Emergency Responder Course,
   (304-5) 8-Hour Work-Zone Safety Emergency Response Awareness Course,
   (901) 14-Hour Confined Space Training Course, and
   (905) OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety and Health Training Course.

   Open enrollment courses are held throughout the year at TNEC's training center at UMass Lowell and at other locations in New England.  To obtain further information about these courses, their MA DEP approval numbers, training contact hours and a schedule of all open enrollment course offerings please visit our website at www.uml.edu/tnec.

Karla Armanti, Dennis Martino, out going Chair and Louise Hannan

  At this year's NH COSH annual meeting, Louise Anne Hannan was elected the first woman Chair of NH COSH's Executive Board.  Louise is the Health Officer Liaison for the NH Department of Health and Human Services.  It was through this position as Health Officer Liaison that Louise and NH COSH began a long working relationship.  She is instrumental in helping NH COSH set up day-long workshops on Emergency Response and All Hazards Awareness Training for the NH Health Officers Association.  Louise's commitment and dedication to public health and safety in the state of New Hampshire is exceptional, she is always going the extra mile.  Louise leaves the position as COSH board treasurer to assume the position of Board Chair.
   Another new face joined the NH COSH Executive Board, Karla R. Armenti, ScD.  Karla is the principal investigator for the Occupational Health Surveillance Program Bureau which is part of the Public Health Statistics and Informatics Division of the Public Health Service. An achievement award was presented to Karla R. Armenti for her continued oversight of occupational health surveillance in New Hampshire

   TNEC has provided excellent training to federal and state agencies, small businesses and large multi-national corporations for over 18 years.  Many companies and agencies over the years have sent multiple employees to our 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Site Health and Safety courses and the 8-Hour refresher.  To thank our loyal customers and for those who are choosing us for the first time and who send more than three employees to our trainings over a one year period, we will begin to offer up to a 15% discount on the price of the course.  To find out if you are eligible for the discount pricing contact David Coffey, Training Manager at 978.934.3296 or David_Coffey@uml.edu or Therese O'Donnell 978.934.3329 or Therese_Odonnell@uml.edu.
NOTE: TNEC changes its Refresher curriculum each year, beginning in September, so that students returning to TNEC year after year for their Refresher training are presented with new materials each time.
   From September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2011, the curriculum for the Site Worker Refresher includes Reviews of Student Work History for the past year, and small group activities emphasizing OSHA priority safety issues such as: Walking and Working Surfaces, Hazardous Materials, Gulf Oil Spill, Occupational Stress, Record Keeping, Infectious Diseases and Global Harmonization.  Other review topics: Reflecting on Health and Safety, NIOSH Pocket Guide Activity, Respiratory Protection, Action Cards Discussion and Table Top activity.

   

MassCOSH

  Standing Together for Safe and Healthy Work

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Contact:   Diane Malachowski, Manager Region 1 OTIEC, oshaed@keene.edu
                       175 Ammon Drive, Manchester, NH 03103-3308